09-Developing Missionaries

Upstream Blog

The Upstream Blog has a range of short articles on various topics around sending. Look through the tags to discover articles that meet your need.

In our increasingly globalized world, Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are becoming more common. These children grow up in a culture different...

Setting children up to thrive during a cross-cultural move

Stepping into a new cultural context for the first time can be overwhelming. The excitement of going to the mission field can quickly...

“The task is too urgent … forget about training, let’s just get going!” “These training schemes are not biblical … you don’t see Paul...

Typically, when I’ve moved to a new town, I like to take some time to explore various routes from point A to point B. I’m always looking...

Most churches channel their efforts into cross-cultural missions through short-term trips, enabling church members to experience the...

Mental health has become a major focus in our post-COVID world, as rates of depression, suicide, and anxiety are climbing at alarming...

We should teach our future missionaries the principles of multiplicative discipleship no matter which church model they encounter.

Discipleship 101: Pray, read your Bible, go to church, participate in cross-cultural training . . . Wait, what? Isn’t that the kind of...

I love the enthusiasm I encounter among aspiring missionaries. It drips from them like water from your hands when there are no paper...

As missions leaders, we work hard to get our people overseas on short-term trips and as long-term missionaries. This is an awesome...

As we begin this month’s focus on Missions Mobilization, we wanted to provide some helpful tools for you to use in evaluating those who...

Raising families overseas is not easy, but you're not alone. Here are some helpful resources for raising families overseas.

While it's never fun to consider how to respond to crises, it's important to learn how to equip your short-term teams for such occasions.

The global church needs theological educators committed to missionary efforts and missionaries committed to theological education.

The best way to learn to share Christ is by doing it. The challenge is to anchor our faith in Christ and step out by faith.

Working hard to develop character prior to going overseas is best for the Sent-One and for the team receiving them on the field.

In my last two articles, I talked about helping missionaries attain emotional health and training them in multiplicative discipleship....

In short, we believe emotionally healthy spirituality is key to missionary flourishing and longevity.

If you’ve experienced lockdowns, disrupted lives, and are still experiencing uncertainty, we encourage you to consider these questions.